Air Museum Hopes to Spread its Wings

Flying enthusiasts now have the chance to get an up-close look at a 29,000-pound piece of vital wartime aircraft.

An A-10 Thunderbolt has landed at the outdoor viewing area of the Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association’s , joining about two dozen other aircraft currently on display. The low-flying 3,900-round-per-minute fighter plane, which has the ability to withstand “direct hits from armor-piercing and high explosive projectiles” is making its home at the Easton Road museum, according to DVHAA volunteer Mark Hurwitz.

The plane is a remnant from the in-flight missions of the , the unit stationed at the adjacent Horsham Air Guard Station.

this one was one that was not flyable,” Hurwitz said. “So, it was rehabbed to display condition.”

To accommodate the new addition, Hurwitz said the volunteer-run nonprofit group applied for and was granted approval to reposition several other aircraft already on display outside.

Now, Hurwitz said DVHAA hopes to extend the fence line to allow visitors a more “up close and personal” look at some of the nation’s flight history, including the A-10.

“We believe the additional space for our public display will be approved primarily because what we’re asking for is public access to more of our currently leased property,” Hurwitz said. “The yard will become far more open, allowing people just to wander back … We’re hoping to have access to that soon.”

The future

Until last year, DVHAA had leased its property directly from the Navy. With the closure and impending redevelopment of , the Horsham Land Reuse Authority now serves as sort of an intermediary between DVHAA and the Navy. The HLRA has a lease in place with the Navy for the DVHAA property and  Any changes to the property are subject to approval first, Hurwitz said.

While DVHAA’s lease may be temporary, its plans to stay on the base property are fixed. The HLRA, in its for 862 acres of the 1,100-acre military base, earmarked a 13.1-acre tract – nearly double DVHAA’s existing space - for an aviation museum.

Unlike the 1,400 plus homes, a new school, shops and more planned for the overall development, Hurwitz said DVHAA has a bit of an advantage.

“We’re there (already),” he said. “We’re continuing to grow and evolve.”

Eventually having a DVHAA-owned parcel may help the group realize one of its main missions – to recognize and build greater awareness of local aviation pioneer Harold F. Pitcairn. Photo boards inside the museum pay tribute to Pitcairn, but his actual aircraft have, since DVHAA’s inception 40 years ago, been an obvious omission.

“If you talk to helicopter people, if you talk to people at the helicopter museum, they acknowledge that what Harold Pitcairn did was groundbreaking,” Hurwitz said. “We want to make that more like the Kitty Hawk of helicopter flight. You mention Wright Brothers, Kitty Hawk, people get it.”

And what better way to drive that home than to have an actual piece of Pitcairn history on display?

David Pitcairn, a nephew of the late aviator, . The lawyers overseeing the family’s estate were looking for a “facility that’s stable,” he had said.

Perhaps DVHAA’s inclusion in the base redevelopment added a bit of stability in the minds of the Pitcairns.

“The Pitcairn family has confidence that DVHAA will stay on the property now,” David Pitcairn told Patch this week.

Planning (and paying) for the future

Moving forward is exciting, yet daunting for DVHAA, according to Hurwitz. While the property they are leasing is owned by the federal government, DVHAA is not permitted to charge admission fees, meaning the pool of money to fund a new museum – in the neighborhood of $25 million – must come from donations, museum gift purchases and benefactors.

“It’s an ongoing thing,” Hurwitz said. “There are a lot of wheels on the bus.”

On a perhaps smaller scale, David Pitcairn said he intended to help as well. Pitcairn said he was “starting to lay the initial groundwork” for his family to also lend help to the organization.

“There’s just so many things going on,” Hurwitz said, adding that continuing to expand the museum’s display inventory is a constant focus. “To outsiders it may look like not a lot is happening. From the inside, all those different buttons and more are being pushed.”

The hope, Hurwitz said, is that when the federal government gives its stamp of approval and the land can legally be transferred and redeveloped, “we’re ready to go.”